EPA Coal Rules Could Prompt 'Fuel Switching'

1:54 PM MDT | July 28, 2010 | Vincent Valk

New U.S. EPA rules on coal-fired power plants could prompt utilities to switch to natural gas fed power plants, reports say. Such 'fuel-switching' has long been a concern of the U.S. chemical industry, for which natural gas is a cheap and abundant feedstock. "We've been concerned for years that regulation could result in large-scale fuel switching," an ACC spokesperson says. Natural gas is "the logical choice" for utilities that will need to comply with new regulations, such as the proposed mercury rules, ACC adds. EPA is currently working on...